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UKGPL => UKGPL Races => Topic started by: Cookie on August 03, 2016, 02:13:53 PM +0100



Title: UKGPL Season 30 - Chris Amon Memorial - Le Mans - Aug 5
Post by: Cookie on August 03, 2016, 02:13:53 PM +0100
Season 30 - Chris Amon Memorial - Sport Cars - Le Mans

The family of Kiwi motorsport legend Chris Amon has confirmed that the 73 year-old died this morning in Rotorua hospital.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/motorsport/82795037/motor-racing-great-chris-amon-dies-in-hospital
 
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Amon's and Bruce McLaren's victory in a Ford GT40  at Le Mans.

I will drive the Ford GT 40 MK2B as a tribute to my hero
You have free car choice and no limit shift+r

Race List =  IGOR
Server = UKGPL_8
IP Address = look at IGOR
Race date = 05-08-2016
GPL mod = SC
60fps patch used = 60fpsV1
Track dir = nbsarthe (ftp://ukgpl3.dyndns.org/Tracks/)
Qualification = 20:45  UK time -> 45min
Race = race starts at ~21:30 UK time
Race length = ~45 min -> 14 laps
Damage Model = INT
Replay = you get here (ftp://ukgpl3.dyndns.org/Replays/Archive/Season30/FunRaces/)

Please restrict chat to emergency messages only, including at the end of the race until ALL drivers still racing have crossed the line.
Using the "no letterbox" patch makes chat messages in car obsolete, so you better uncheck it in GPL options ;)


GLA and have FUN



Title: Re: UKGPL Season 30 - Chris Amon Memorial - Le Mans - Aug 5
Post by: Rainier on August 03, 2016, 04:22:42 PM +0100
Very sad news  :(

Chris Amon was a legend !

I saw him driving a Matra MS660 on the 1000 km of Paris (on Montlhery track) in 1971.
His teammate was Beltoise (who died last year). 

(http://www.classiccourses.fr/files/2737274333.2.jpg)


Title: Re: UKGPL Season 30 - Chris Amon Memorial - Le Mans - Aug 5
Post by: francesco on August 03, 2016, 07:28:37 PM +0100
Another myth is gone!


Title: Re: UKGPL Season 30 - Chris Amon Memorial - Le Mans - Aug 5
Post by: GregT on August 07, 2016, 12:36:14 AM +0100
Congrats Tristan and Mark! Not a bad drive guys. Chris would have been pleased?

I got lucky I wasn't the last one to make a mistake.

I tried to the drive like I think Chris would have. Smart and fast while looking out for the other drivers. I didn't hold anything back unless I was close behind one of the Fords.

I used most of this event to work on a good race setup. I had recently put together a good qualifying setup but hadn't yet worked on a race setup. I started qualifying with a race setup carrying 5 laps of fuel. I figured that should get me a 3:23.5 without much trouble. And I thought 5 laps would allow me to see where my tire temps and pressures would settle. I got lucky and caught Doni on my 3rd lap and got a good tow giving me my Q time. I managed a 3:22.77 on the 5th and last lap of the stint. I was pleased. Then I gave my Q setup a try to see if I could possibly get a 3:21. On the 3rd and last lap, I managed 3:22.46. 0.01 seconds faster than my previous PB without a tow, but this time I didn't intentionally speedshift. :) My 3rd stint was on race fuel. I came onto the track not far in front of Mark. I hope I didn't keep you from improving your lap times. I wasn't too worried though since you were able to hold pole position. It was nice getting those last two laps in Q on race fuel while in the tow.

Mark drove well most of the time except for a few mistakes like myself. He was better under braking than I thought he'd be. I never saw anything that made me think I could make a clean pass. I tried a few times to beat him to the line hoping I might have a card to play at the end. I never got my nose further than the midpoint of his Ford. My big advantage was a much higher mid corner speed. I thought my best shot might be outbraking him before Indianapolis or Maison Blanche but he seemed to be braking about the same point I would have if he wasn't in front of me. The Ford really powers away from the Ferrari above 170mph/274kmh.

Mark finally made a mistake that gave me the lead. He got sideways exiting the Esses. I thought I may have bumped him but running into the wall to avoid him worked. :) Unfortunately I took the lead at place that wouldn't allow me to hold it. He easily retook it on the Mulsanne Straight. Then I got lucky again and he was late braking at Mulsanne. That gave me a ten second lead. I thought I might be a bit faster at that point in the race. My first lap in the lead lowered my fast race lap by .2 seconds, but the gap to Mark stayed the same at 10.24 seconds. I thought Prib may have malfunctioned but it didn't. Mark was 0.002 seconds faster than me on lap 6. :) You can't get much closer matched than that. Then I thought I'd do one more lap as fast as I could. If I could keep Mark from gaining any more than a few tenths, I'd slow and let him catch me before Indianapolis and see how the race progressed from there. That no longer mattered when I missed my braking point for Mulsanne. He was close enough after that, that I figured the tow would probably allow him to catch me. The very next lap I miss my braking point for Mulsanne again. That time I managed to get the car into the turn but I got sideways and almost came to a stop. My only thought was get the car out of Mark's way. Once again I got lucky and he slid sideways like I did. I kept a decent lead but that allowed Axel and Tristan to get close to Mark. Then comes my 3rd and final mistake. I miss my braking for Indianapolis. I worried that I had lost any chance to win then. I knew I had to make up a lot of distance between Arnage and Tertre Rouge. Lucky again, that's where the Ferrari was best. At one point after my off at Indianapolis, I thought I had lost the tow.

It took a little while but I caught up with Mark and Axel. Once I did, I began thinking this is a more difficult situation than before. I never saw any opportunity to pass Mark. How am I going to pass Axel and then slot in behind Mark? All I could do is stick with the Fords. A little later, I start worrying Mark may break away from Axel. I say it aloud, "Don't lose Mark!" I didn't think Mark could get away from me but I thought I might lose him because I couldn't pass Axel. Once again, I get lucky and Axel goes too far to the left entering the Esses and gets sideways. I'm able to slip by with no trouble.

Then it's me on Mark's tail with Tristan not too far behind. Tristan had been slowly gaining on us over the preceding laps. I thought Mark and I might have chance to get away from Tristan. I had been worrying that a four way battle for the lead could get very ugly. Lucky 13 for me. Lap 13, Axel spins at the Esses and Mark missed his braking point for Mulsanne. I lose no time from Axel's spin and I get an excellent tow down the Mulsanne from Mark. GPLRA says it as well as any, "What would become the fastest lap of the race is set by Greg 67GT Taber.The time is an impressive 3m20.762s." I couldn't believe I ran that fast a lap. It didn't feel like a particularly good lap. At the end with an ideal lap of 3:19.22, I should be able to go faster if the car in front of me can. :)

Once I take the lead again, I know it's not over yet. Tristan isn't far behind and the tow could very easily let him catch me. I weave back and forth on the straights on the last lap to limit the tow Tristan could get. After such a good drive, I sure didn't want to lose the win on the last lap. Tristan probably would have caught the leaders if he had a longer 5th gear. I know once I got the lead on lap 13, I wished I had my qualifying gear set.

I tried to make my race setup a little easier to drive. 1% more forward BB, a little less power locking on the differential, a longer 4th/5th gear, and lower tire pressures. It worked well. I'm close to perfect on 5th gear for the tow. It never ran short. 8000 rpms at 210mph/338 kmh. I regularly saw 214mph and I reached a maximum of 216mph/347.5kmh at 8200-8300 rpm multiple times. I was flying. :) That may be the fastest I've ever gone in the 330. It's the first time I've been able to keep up with either of the big block Fords at Lemans.

I got good gas mileage in the tow. I had calculated I needed 23.8 gallons/90 liters for 14 laps. I thought I might use more fuel in the tow but I guess lifting early for turns and less throttle in the middle of the turns increased the mileage. I added an extra gallon, 25 total, not wanting to cut it too close. Instead I finished with 2.3 gallons/8.7 liters. I definitely didn't need that extra gallon.

I enjoyed that a lot. If I hadn't missed my braking point 3 times, it would have been an excellent drive. Chris gave me some inspiration. I did my best not to hit anybody. I tried to give Mark and Axel plenty of room most of the time so they wouldn't wreck either. I'm getting my setups refined for myself as well as Chris would have for himself. It was nice, feeling I was rewarded with a win for my patience and consideration.

RIP Chris. I'm sure many will miss you dearly.


Title: Re: UKGPL Season 30 - Chris Amon Memorial - Le Mans - Aug 5
Post by: Mark Jones on August 08, 2016, 09:05:01 AM +0100
Congrats Greg, you got amazing speed out of that Ferrari.  I was a bit rusty, didn't see the post for this race until the night before.  Things started out Ok, but I started snatching my front tyres, and they started overheating.  I was getting a bit more erratic, and then finally I locked up and went off at Mulsanne, and then kept doing that again and again.  In the end the car was just wobbling around and I was lucky to get 3rd.

I've read a lot about Chris Amon over the years, naturally.  He was a pretty relaxed dude.  People would say to him how unlucky he was to never have won a championship race, but he always said that instead he considered himself very lucky to have made it through those times alive.  A classic Le Mans tale, from the book Forza Amon, has Chris at Le Mans in 1967, stuck on the side of the track with a flat tyre on the Ferrari:

Quote
“There was a sort of jack, a torch (flashlight) and a wheel hammer to knock the centre-lock spinner off. The first thing I discovered was that the batteries in the torch were flat but there were plenty of cars coming past with their headlights blazing so I had light on and off - occasional illumination at 200 miles an hour.

“I got the jack out and started to crank it up. It actually worked after a fashion and the next step was to get the wheel hammer, wait for a blaze of headlights, and take a shot at the centre-lock wheel nut. I swung at it and the head flew off the hammer, disappearing into the night and the track-side ditch. So I’m crawling around in the ditch, looking for the head of this bloody hammer at 1 o’clock in the morning.

“I was obviously going to have to drive it back to the pits somehow so I packed the kit away, got back in, fired up and drove away relatively slowly down the straight - but I was still probably doing 100 mph and the tire was disintegrating, flapping wildly. There were sparks showering back from the suspension upright and I assume what eventually happened was that a fuel line was knocked off one of the fuel tanks just in front of the rear wheels. The whole car just went up in flames - BOOF!

“I had been tooling down the right-hand side of the track anyway and I aimed it for the ditch. It was getting bloody warm by that stage, so I jumped out, thinking that I had almost stopped, but I was probably still doing 50 mph and I ended up somersaulting down the ditch while the Ferrari rolled another 100 metres along the road before it came to a stop not far from a marshal's post.

“The marshals could see the flames from the car, which was now well alight, and they came running. There were four marshals and three Gendarmes and they soon had the fire out and were searching frantically for the driver - me. They were looking around in the ditch, wondering where I was, and I remember walking up the ditch, feeling a bit battered, and tapping a Gendarme on the shoulder and saying, ‘Here I am.’ Poor guy. He bloody near died of fright!”


Title: Re: UKGPL Season 30 - Chris Amon Memorial - Le Mans - Aug 5
Post by: EvilClive on August 08, 2016, 09:46:53 AM +0100
Very sad to hear about the passing of Chris Amon.

Mark's quote from Chris's book reads almost like a GPL race report, full of excuses, ridiculous incidents and humour. He would have fitted in well at UKGPL!


Title: Re: UKGPL Season 30 - Chris Amon Memorial - Le Mans - Aug 5
Post by: GregT on August 14, 2016, 07:02:52 PM +0100
Thanks Mark. Interesting story. Dead batteries in the torch and a crappy hammer are typical of Amon's luck.

His luck in 1969 was even worse, but not as bad as Woolfe's. :( John Woolfe is assumed to not have fastened his seat belts to get a better start but then he fatally wrecks his 917 at Maison Blanche on lap 1 and Amon happens to be the one that hits his fuel tank resulting in a scorched 312P for Amon. Another ruined race for Amon but once again he's lucky he could come back to race another day. Chris probably should have tried Ickx's starting tactics, walk to the car and take your time fastening the belts.

Amon's luck is interesting. It made his stats look poor while at the same time allowing him a somewhat healthy and long career.


Title: Re: UKGPL Season 30 - Chris Amon Memorial - Le Mans - Aug 5
Post by: Mark Jones on August 15, 2016, 11:05:04 AM +0100
Yeah I read that Ickx's slow walk in 69 was in protest of the start procedures, which he felt led to his friend Willy Mairesse's terrible crash on the opening lap the year before, causing him career-ending injuries (and eventual suicide) due to not having his belts done up in time.